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Unfortunately,most the predictions are not going to be realized. The Russians are totally dominating the doubles and the women's singles. They have beaten most of the seeds (including some ex-Indonesians). Surprising indeed....

Some of the notable upsets:MD
Mike Beres/William Milroy (top seed) lost to Alexander Nikolaenko/Vitaly Durkin 15-21, 17-21 -- I have mentioned in my post yesterday that Vitaly Durkin is quite a player...and he showed his ability once again by advancing in both MD and XD.

WD
Amelie Felx/Florence Lavoie (top seed) lost to Johannah Lee/Grace Peng 10-21, 3-10 (retired) -- I understand that Grace and Johannah are from SGVBC? So, there's something for the home crowrd to cheer for in the semi-final today.

Eva Lee/Mesinee Mangkalakiri (seeded 3/4) lost to Nina Vislova/Valerya Sorokina 18-21, 6-21 -- another surprise win for the Russian...they are not to be underestimated!

Irina Ruslayakova/Evgenya Dimova beat Angelina De Pauw/Mona Santoso (seeded 3/4) 21018, 21-6 -- wow...probably the first time an Indonesian pair lost to a Russian pair in badminton? The Russian is guaranteed a place in the final after their second-seeded pair also won.

Halim Heryanto/Angelina De Pauw lost to Evgeny Dremin/Evgenya Dimova 17-21, 21-17, 16-21 -- yet another shocking defeat...even the presence of the ex All-England and World Champion did not matter.

Sergey Ivlev/Nina Vislova bt Mike Beres/Tammy Sun (seeded 2) 21-12, 21-17 -- another final appearance guaranteed for the Russian as they continued to steamroll their opposition..this time the second seeded Canadian pair.

WD
Amelie Felx/Florence Lavoie (top seed) lost to Johannah Lee/Grace Peng 10-21, 3-10 (retired) -- I understand that Grace and Johannah are from SGVBC? So, there's something for the home crowrd to cheer for in the semi-final today.

Thanks for the update. Yes, the Russians are strong...go-go Grace and Johannah!

just came back from Day 3 - QF day...will do a review and pics upload in a while..in the meantime, just want to comment on badMania's review..

Originally Posted by badMania

Unfortunately,most the predictions are not going to be realized. The Russians are totally dominating the doubles and the women's singles. They have beaten most of the seeds (including some ex-Indonesians). Surprising indeed....

yes, indeed...the Russians are coming in *full-force*...They're ALL GOOD!!..I think Viper2005 earlier predictions of all Russians in the Finals in all the fields could come true...

Some of the notable upsets:MD
Mike Beres/William Milroy (top seed) lost to Alexander Nikolaenko/Vitaly Durkin 15-21, 17-21 -- I have mentioned in my post yesterday that Vitaly Durkin is quite a player...and he showed his ability once again by advancing in both MD and XD.

i missed this match, but watched Durkin played in his MD's match-he's solid(will show his pics)...

yup, saw that match; i can't believe Dimova played in 3 matches also-she's solid also(will show her pics)..

WD
Amelie Felx/Florence Lavoie (top seed) lost to Johannah Lee/Grace Peng 10-21, 3-10 (retired) -- I understand that Grace and Johannah are from SGVBC? So, there's something for the home crowrd to cheer for in the semi-final today.

from what i recall, she injured her ankle(most likely her right ankle. She had to be helped and carried off the court by one of the tourney's official. And i saw Paisan took some pics of her using a HP, as she was being carried off from inside the arena to outside..

Eva Lee/Mesinee Mangkalakiri (seeded 3/4) lost to Nina Vislova/Valerya Sorokina 18-21, 6-21 -- another surprise win for the Russian...they are not to be underestimated!

yes, this duo is amazing...playing against U.S. top WD pair, they fight their way and able to win in straight sets..Nothing fancy or power smashes, just pure hard work, smart shot selections and defense..(will have pics of them)..

Irina Ruslayakova/Evgenya Dimova beat Angelina De Pauw/Mona Santoso (seeded 3/4) 21018, 21-6 -- wow...probably the first time an Indonesian pair lost to a Russian pair in badminton? The Russian is guaranteed a place in the final after their second-seeded pair also won.

the GGBC defending WD champ will not see a rematch with Johanna and Grace..I guess this is not their luck..(will have some pics of them also)..

i did not see this one either, but also interested to see Howard's rematch against Durkin..Howard will want to avenge his lost, but i think it depends on Eva..If she can't handle and take off pressure from Howard, i doubt they'll win against Durkin and Sorokina..

Halim Heryanto/Angelina De Pauw lost to Evgeny Dremin/Evgenya Dimova 17-21, 21-17, 16-21 -- yet another shocking defeat...even the presence of the ex All-England and World Champion did not matter.

saw the end of it, rubber set..i thought both Halim and Angie committed many self-errors...One word though, Dremin is a "monster of a player" (will have pics)..

Sergey Ivlev/Nina Vislova bt Mike Beres/Tammy Sun (seeded 2) 21-12, 21-17 -- another final appearance guaranteed for the Russian as they continued to steamroll their opposition..this time the second seeded Canadian pair.

saw the end of this match...(will have pics of them)..

alright, that's all the review for now...stay tune for pics and more review..

just curious, are those russian XD and MD tall players like the danes?

yes, tall, lanky, quick, lean mean machines......Esp. that Dremin guy, what a "monster of a player"..Esp. in his XD match against Halim/Angie, it's like he's not afraid of his smashes and he's not even scared of smashing them back even harder to Angie and Halim..His partner, Dimova, is also tall, lanky and pretty quick at the net..

A bit off topic...

..btw, i met with Tony G. and asked him if he's going to HK Open and he said yes and guess who is he going to pair up with.............yup, he's back with Candra again(i'm sure their names are in the draw already)..so for those BC fans in HK(ie. taneepak, badMania and the rest, what a treat you guys'll have)..

Unfortunately,most the predictions are not going to be realized. The Russians are totally dominating the doubles and the women's singles. They have beaten most of the seeds (including some ex-Indonesians). Surprising indeed....

The Russians are coming right at the doorsteps of the US.

China may be able to prevent their advance if the prize money is upped many more times to make the very long journey to OCBC (perhaps far too small for an upgraded Open) worth their while for the world-class Asians. Then our fellow BFers in the US will be able to enjoy many more top-rate Opens.

Day 3 - Quarterfinal Rd - some pics and reviews (part 1)

..alright, here's the review and some pics from the QF day. I will divide them in 2 separate posts..
Came in a bit late, missed some earlier XD matches, but saw the end of 2 of the XD matches..Crowd was almost the same size as yesterday, but filled up soon just before the MD & WD matches..Overall, the matches were much more interesting the yesterday's matches..
Here are some notable reviews:

-Saw the XD match between Halim/Angie vs. Dremin/Dimova(see 10th pic) was pretty fast paced. I saw the tail end of it, but Halim and esp. Angie made more self-errors towards the end, which basically put an end to their quest for a SF place. One player which caught my eye after watching this is Dremin from Russia. He is young, tall and fast. Their outlook:And after seeing him deliver some pretty powerful hit downs, i think they have a chance to take the XD title to the bank.
-Saw the MS match between top seeded Nakanishi vs. Go. The match went rubber set, with Go giving Nakanishi a run for his money, but fell short. Nakanishi made quite a lot of self-errors in the 3rd set, which helped brought the score closer. But in the end, he prevailed over Go. His outlook:he has a good chance to take the MS title, but he got a bit of scare from Go.
- Saw the longest and probably the most intense match of the day. MS match between Ivlev and a Canadian guy(sorry, forgot the name, it has a long name). Quite worth a watch, as both players have different styles of play:Russian quicker with more power shots while the Canadian with more patient and simple game. At the end, the Canadian made more self-errors thus the defeat.
- Saw the youngest player on the court in WS match between Cee Keputra(17th & 18th pics) vs. Eva Lee. No contest, but Keputra has shown pretty good hope for U.S. future in WS field.
- Saw Dabeka played, but his opponent i believe was older than him.
- Saw the SGVBC gal won their match in a WO. I believe Amelie Felix injured her right ankle. Didn't see what happened, but it looked quite severe(looked like similar injury to WCH, hopefully it's not) as she was carried off the court and outside the stadium by a tourney's official. Too bad for her though. Outlook:Grace and Johanna have a chance now to win the WD title. But they will have to go thru the Russian pairs starting tomorrow(SF) and if they do pass the test, then most likely they'll play another Russian WD pair.
- Saw 2 Russian WD pairs, dispose of their opponent. Personally, the pair of Vislova(2nd & 3rd pics w/ white skirt)/Sorokina has the best chance to challenge for the title. They look and work as a team.
- Saw 2 Russian MD pairs, dispose of the top seeds. Again, Dremin and his partner really took care of the Brazil pair. While Durkin and his partner took care of the top seeds Beres and Milroy. Outlook : tomorrow MD SF matches will be 1 heck of a show.
- Saw Chandra and his partner loss to the Canadian pair. No match as there are many self-errors. Bottom line after seeing 2 matches:there's no question why Chandra(Ko Wi) is no longer in Pelatnas..
- Saw the defending GGBC WD champ, Angie and Mona, just lost it out there on the court. From the very beginning, i can feel both Angie and Mona just didn't have the fire in their eyes to play. Came out very flat and non-aggressive with their body language-> I guess they were still feeling the affect of their losses in the XD. Then after the 1st set ended, saw them sort of arguing and threw their rackets on the floor mat. After that, they never recover and lost tamely. The funny thing was, their opponent wasn't even dominating, as Dimova's partner was awkward, slow and reg. smashes. Oh well...
- Saw Tony and Halim just toying their OCBC pupils. Almost non-watchable.

Anyways, the SF day should be one entertaining day. I, myself, am looking fw to the MD and WD matches. With XD and MS, WS as gap-fillers...Sorry again if some of the pics are still blurry....
Enjoy the pics and stay tune for more pics tomorrow..

Day 3 - QF - Some pics and reviews (part 3)

..here are the last batches of pics..Noticed i took a couple pics of the Yonex booth and the stringing area(sorry, a bit blurred)...Also some pics of the trophies; who's gonna have their names tattooed on top of the hardware plaques??..hmm, we shall wait and find out in 2 days..hehe